College drama fest

College drama clubs from around the country have gathered at Beijing 9 Theater to put on 36 performances at the on-going two-week 2009 College Theater Festival.

Co-sponsored by the Beijing Drama Association and Beijing 9 Theater, this year's festival will run till Aug 23, and will for the first time, feature the Golden Hedgehog award to honor the best performance.

Besides plays - from classic adaptations to contemporary works - the festival will also put on rock concerts, lectures and workshops.

The College Theater Festival, first held in 2001, is an annual event aimed at encouraging original works and providing a platform for college drama fans nationwide. Over the past eight years, more than 400 colleges have participated in the festival, featuring 127 works.

Children's art

The Second China International Children's Arts Exhibition was held in Shanghai last week, with the theme - Peace, Health, and Happiness. Well-known Chinese artist Wu Guanzhong was artistic consultant for the event, while artist He Jiaying, calligrapher Jin Changyun, and artist Liang Yan, amid others, held workshops for the young talents.

The 10-day exhibition collected more than 40,000 paintings by kids from 29 countries. Some 400 were exhibited in Shanghai and 60 won awards.

Asian creativity

Artists from 23 Asian countries will come together today at the 11th Asia Arts Festival, that will run till Aug 26, in Ordos, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The theme of the nine-day festival is "Auspicious Prairie, Blissful Asia" and will present popular Asian art forms that highlight Mongolia's ethnic culture. It will include the traditional Ordos Nadam Fair which includes wrestling, horse-racing and archery.

Several exhibitions that show Asia's different cultures will be held, including the 1st Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Ethnic Minorities Exhibition and the 4th Exhibition of Art Collections of Embassies in China.

Editor: Dong Jirong